


What Could've Been

by jadegreengemini



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Rigel Black Chronicals
Genre: Conversations, Female Harry Potter, Gen, Inspired by The Rigel Black Chronicles
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-14
Updated: 2020-11-14
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:55:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27554197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jadegreengemini/pseuds/jadegreengemini
Summary: "And the final half-blood champion is... Harry Potter!"...A series of one shots connected by the idea of what could've happened if Harry had gotten the chance to compete as herself.(Inspired by the Futile Facade and the other installments in the Rigel Black Chronicles)
Relationships: Harry Potter & Archie Black
Comments: 7
Kudos: 57





	What Could've Been

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Futile Facade](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/713317) by murkybluematter. 



> Wow... I have no idea what I'm doing, but I can't get the idea of Harry competing in the Tournament as herself out of my head, so I guess I'm trying to write that?

The ringing of an unanswered mirror call was already not a fun sound to hear, but the unpleasant factor was cranked up to a ten by the knowledge that Harry didn't do social calls. A ringing mirror meant the type of trouble that even his hyper competent cousin couldn't fix alone, especially when the ringing came outside of their scheduled time for such calls.

"Rigel?" Archie answered cautiously, wishing he could use her real name and forcing a smile on his face that he hoped didn't look as forced as it felt. He watched the mirror's surface clear slowly as his reflection distorted until Harry became visible. The moment she was clear, though, his heart sunk to the floor at the red of her eyes and the puffing up of her under eyes. Harry wasn't half as emotionally repressed and their family liked to joke that she was, but she wouldn't have been crying if something serious hadn't happened. The smile melted off of his face faster than he could release a transformation. "What happened? Are you okay?"

She took a second to take a breath and smile a forced grimace that he was sure she'd meant to be reassuring but only made his heart drop more. If something too bad had happened, damn the consequences, Archie'd be on the first flight to London to pick up that Leo friend of Harry's so he'd have backup to break her out of whatever trouble might've sunken its claws into her. Considering how she'd told Hermione to maintain to ruse, he knew _he'd_ be justified in telling Leo if it was to make sure she'd get out safe.

"Dumbledore had an announcement at dinner tonight," she said with the grimace of a smile on her face, and even as his heart sank to his stomach he was wistfully hoping he was just missing the mark on how she was feeling. "And by Dumbledore... I mean Riddle. The S.O.W. Party is helping to sponsor a new version of the Triwizard Tournament meant to 'prove the inherent superiority of the pureblood race'. Riddle wants me to complete."

"Sweet Merlin," Archie gasped, left hand clamping down over his mouth to act as a barrier to prevent more unwanted words from leaving him. Much as he wanted to do what he wanted and damn the consequences, he knew he could freak out later. Right now he needed to make sure Harry was okay. "Will he force you to compete? Does he have something on us?"

Harry's bottom lip wavered as she took in a shaky breath, eyes watering as the grimace of a smile seemed to crack more. "I don't know."

"It's okay, Harry," he said quickly but as calmly as he could, desperate to reassure her and wishing he were there to give her the hug she so desperately needed. "I've got your back no matter what. Whatever happens we can get through this together. Whenever you're ready, just start from be beginning and tell me what's going on over on your end, okay?"

She inhaled another shaky breath, but he was pleased to note that this one was deeper and that her exhale was more controlled. It might've been the town of it might've been to clear next thing to do that grounded her, but as long as he was positive she wasn't gif to shatter into a million pieces he could put his plan to flee to England on the back burner for the moment to listen to her explanation of what was going on.

As she started to explain everything that was happening, however, he found himself struggling not to twitch towards his pouch of emergency galleons. He didn't have half of the self control that Harry did and keeping his expression as openly neutral as possible so as to not seem suspicious was near impossible with how worried he was feeling and had she not been clearly overwhelmed by her own emotions he had not doubt that Harry would've picked up on his anxieties and watered down the story like she usually tried to, but thankfully (and unfortunately) for him, at the moment she was too focused on a direct relay of the events to filter herself too thoroughly.

Hogwarts was playing host to a variation of the Triwizard Tournament. According to Harry's friends it was supposed to be funded and with its being designed by the S.O.W. Party it was was likely to be more difficult than the average wizard would be prepared to handle raising the likelihood of whatever committee in charge of selecting the candidates choosing her to complete.

If Harry were to complete in the tournament and win as a _pureblood_ , her future would be dimmer by the day. Nothing Archie could say in opposition to the law's inherent faults would be taken as true, especially not against _Rigel Black_. With Rigel's known tendency to play down his strengths and victories on Riddle and the SOW Party's side, anything they might say against the suffocating legislation would be muffled by the cotton Riddle's tournament was going to shove in society's ears to make them dead to the true nature of the illogical ideology.

Rigel Black would become the face of the oppressive political movement that had made their ruse necessary and the poster child of pureblood supremacy.

Archie loathed the idea of Harry and himself spending their lives being touted as the prefect example of bigoted values as he knew they would be.

If Archie had to pick one of them to be nominated, he'd pick Harry. She was obnoxiously good at handling shitty situations. She'd win easily, no doubt. _Besides_ , if Rigel Black were nominated, Archie wouldn't put of past Riddle to skew the competition in her favor to ensure his agenda being pushed to the degree he'd like.

In his moment of contemplation, Archie had let Harry work herself up too much. The grey eyes she was currently faking had started threatening to overflow once more with tears. It was a heartbreaking sight to behold.

"But Archie, it's _worse than that_ ," she rushed out frantically, "even though the possible candidates have to be selected by a teacher beforehand, the real deciding factor of who the competitors are _is the bloody Goblet of Fire!_ There's not way I'd be able to trick it into believing I'm you! We'll be discovered for sure if I'm forced to enter _and it announces that Harry Potter is one of the half-blood champions!_ I won't be able to keep attending Hogwarts and at this point in time we're too far into this to switch back permanently! Even just academically we're at totally different levels! You can't learn under Snape!"

But wait... if the Goblet of Fire was being used to select the champions...

"Harry," Archie said, being sure to speak slowly and deliberately, desperate not to rush his words. If he took his time to sound it out he'd have more time to phrase what he wanted to say how he wanted to say it. It was just obvious enough of an idea that Harry must've missed it while looking for exit strategies, but not one obvious enough that it would be visible to outsiders. "Maybe _you_ should be the person to compete in the tournament."

She looked flabbergasted as she blinked in bewilderment and the tears were pushed out from the pressure of her eyes closing. "What on earth are you talking about? Me competing is the whole problem!"

"If Riddle makes you put your name in the Goblet and enter... maybe I need to put my name in there, too," Archie found himself mumbling, that half cooked plan baking in an oven as he kept thinking about it. He was becoming exceedingly aware that the best of his pranking days were getting further and further behind him as he struggled to fill in the gaps in a scheme that he used to be able to fill with ease, but it didn't matter sat the moment. Their history of deception was going to come in handy just as much as their ability to plot a scheme. "I'll see if I meet the requirements for entering. If Riddle is trying to get you entered we need to give Harry Potter's name a reason to come out of the Goblet. What better way of proving his theory wrong than the same way he was planning on proving it right?"

She was quiet as she held a hand over her mouth to muffle her heavy breathing. There was something melancholic about Archie's successes in moments like these. It wasn't often that his plans seemed more likely to work than Harry's, but usually when it was, it was only because she was too emotionally invested in the situation they found themselves in. "What are you saying, Archie?"

"Do you know what would happen if you did trick the goblet and Riddle rigs it so that you win?"

"Of course I do," she nodded solemnly, "he'd make me his proof that pureblood children are inherently more magically capable than half-bloods and muggleborns."

"So what I'm saying," he started slowly as the final pieces of the puzzle fell into place in Harry's mind and the tears seemed to subside. "Is that I'm going to get myself nominated for the tournament and then when your name comes out, I'll be right there to help you prepare. Obviously the Goblet's not gonna pick me, so it's not like I'll have to compete or anything. And besides, Rigel Black can't be the face of pureblood supremacy if it's his cousin. the half-blood, who actually wins."

"And if a half-blood wins the tournament it'll prove them wrong..." she muttered, eyes glazed and unfocused. "But what if both of our names come out? Or what if it's your name linked to your magic? People at Hogwarts know too much about my dueling style..."

"if both of our names come out you can give me a crash course in everything Remus has taught you and I'll do my best to impersonate Harriet Potter," Archie responded easily with a smile that didn't feel half as forced as the ones he'd given her earlier. "And if someone comments on how similar the styles are we can just say that we train together. Harry Potter teaches Rigel Black everything she knows, but I really don't think I'm gonna be chosen, Harry. I haven't done half of the things you have."

"Sweet Merlin," Harry said as she ran her hand through her hair, eyes closed and face more relaxed than he'd seen it during the rest of the call. "How is this my life? How is this our lives?"

"A couple of eleven year olds got too cocky and committed Azkaban worthy law breaking. Our dads would be so proud if they knew," Archie smiled as his first real smile that afternoon, though if froze as Harry stiffened back up.

"Oh, no," she groaned out, face pinching right back up. "How are we gonna tell our parents about all of this?"

_Shit._

Archie's throat felt heavy. He and Sirius had managed to make it for years without their relationship becoming too damaged by all of his lies, and although he knew his father wouldn't be horrible mad at him, Sirius certainly wouldn't be happy with his pureblood son entering a S.O.W. Party tournament, especially not one as obviously designed to prove a point and he certainly wouldn't be happy with Archie being in danger after Rigel's past three years. It wouldn't matter that Archie wasn't actually planning on competing or going to be chosen.

After the past few years of trouble Harry had gotten herself into, Sirius was starting to get a bit paranoid about his safety. Archie didn't hold it against his dad though. That paranoia was something Archie could relate to. If the fear Sirius felt about Archie being in danger was even a fraction of the fear Archie had felt for Harry as she told him about the situations she found herself in too often, Archie was honestly surprised his father hadn't already gone grey.

"I'll deal with Sirius," Archie said with as much of an effortless tone as he could manage. "I can write to him and explain the news. If you want me to I can even write to Lily and James for you."

Some of the tension seemed to shrink back. Her eyes got all big and teary, but the emotion was totally different. "Can you?"

"Of course," he smiled and she smiled back. It was still a bit shaky, but her breathing was steady and her eyes weren't half as watery as they had been only a few minutes back so he counted it as a victory. "I'll be looking around AIM, too. Try and find out how I can get nominated to enter and all of that and with any luck we'll be meeting in person soon."

Harry took a deep breath and smiled again and Archie was pleased to note that it wasn't sad or anxious anymore. It was cautiously optimistic.

"Will you be alright?" He asked, after a moment or two of companionable silence. "With competing in the tournament, I mean..."

"I don't exactly like it," she laughed loosely, sniffling a bit and shaking her head gently as her eyes focused on something out of his view. "I feel a tad sick at the thought of it, but I do like the idea of having you here with me for once."

"Anytime you need to talk, remember I'm just a call away, Hare."

"I know," she smiled sadly. "It's one of the things that keeps me going sometimes."

"Don't do anything you can't handle," Archie warned. "And take care of yourself. If I arrive and see that you're a shade or two paler because you've been spending all your time working yourself to the bone I'll be very disappointed in you, Harriet."

She laughed brightly at his warning and despite the puffy face and red eyes, she looked happy.

"Stay safe, cuz," Archie smiled right back at her. "You owe me a hug for all of this stress."

Harry laughed, and for hours after he'd hung up, the sound echoed in his head and made the anxiety in his chest just a touch calmer.

Maybe things were changing for the worse as the two of them were getting older, but they hadn't changed an irreparable amount. As long as he could make Harry laugh, he knew she'd eventually be okay.

**Author's Note:**

> I did my best but I really don't know what I'm doing. Any constructive criticism is welcome and appreciated it. If nothing else, thanks for making it this far <3


End file.
